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Trivia: Musical Terms

Subject : trivia
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Quick repetition of the same note or the rapid alternation between two notes.






2. A canon where the melody is sung in two or more voices. After the first voice begins - the next voice starts singing after a couple of measures are played in the preceding voice. All parts repeat continuously.






3. Arranging a piece of music for an orchestra. Also - the study of music.






4. Three to four movement orchestral piece - generally in sonata form.






5. A lighthearted piece - written in several movements - usually as background music for a social function.






6. Unmusical - without tone.






7. One who directs a group of performers. The conductor indicates the tempo - phrasing - dynamics - and style by gestures and facial expressions.






8. Music that is easy to listen to and understand.






9. The interval between two notes. Three whole tones and one semitone make up the distance between the two notes.






10. Refers to the tuning of an instrument.






11. A large group of instrumentalists playing together.






12. A combination of two or more staves on which all the notes are vertically aligned and performed simultaneously in differing registers and instruments.






13. Suite of Baroque dances.






14. One of two or more parts in polyphonic music. Voice refers to instrumental parts as well as the singing voice.






15. Initially an improvised cadence by a soloist; later becoming an elaborate and written out passage in an aria or concerto - featuring the skills of an instrumentalist or vocalist.






16. A reprise.






17. A musical composition written solely to improve technique. Often performed for artistic interest.






18. The principal note of a triad.






19. The intonation - pitch - and modulation of a composition expressing the meaning - feeling - or attitude of the music.






20. To hold a tone or rest held beyond the written value at the discretion of the performer.






21. A quick - improvisational - spirited piece of music.






22. Passage for the entire ensemble or orchestra without a soloist.






23. A line in a contrapuntal work performed by an individual voice or instrument.






24. A piece of music written in triple time. Also an old French dance.






25. An important characteristic of the Romantic period. It is a style where the strict tempo is temporarily abandoned for a more emotional tone.






26. Music written for a lively French dance for two performers written in triple time.






27. The principal note of a triad.






28. Where the musical themes and melodies are developed - written in sonata form.






29. A solo concert with or without accompaniment.






30. One who directs a group of performers. The conductor indicates the tempo - phrasing - dynamics - and style by gestures and facial expressions.






31. A form of music written for marching in two-step time. Originally the march was used for military processions.






32. A period in history during the 18th and early 19th centuries where the focus shifted from the neoclassical style to an emotional - expressive - and imaginative style.






33. A musical form where the melody or tune is imitated by individual parts at regular intervals. The individual parts may enter at different measures and pitches. The tune may also be played at different speeds - backwards - or inverted.






34. Tone color - quality of sound that distinguishes one verse or instrument to another. It is determined by the harmonies of sound.






35. The study of forms - history - science - and methods of music.






36. A composition whose style is simple and idyllic; suggestive of rural scenes.






37. Music that is easy to listen to and understand.






38. A symbol in sheet music a direction to play energetically.






39. A musical form where the principal theme is repeated several times. The rondo was often used for the final movements of classical sonata form works.






40. The first violin in an orchestra.






41. An extended cantata on a sacred subject.






42. The major and minor keys that share the same notes in that key.For example: A minor shares the same note as C major.






43. A system of notation for stringed instruments. The notes are indicated by the finger positions.






44. A melodic or - sometimes a harmonic idea presented in a musical form.






45. The intonation - pitch - and modulation of a composition expressing the meaning - feeling - or attitude of the music.






46. Originally an improvised cadence by a soloist. Later it became a written out passage to display performance skills of an instrumentalist or performer.






47. The raising and lowering a pitch of an instrument to produce the correct tone of a note.






48. Made up of five horizontal parallel lines and the spaces between them on which musical notation is written.






49. The unit of measure where the beats on the lines of the staff are divided up into two - three - four beats to a measure.






50. Singing in unison - texts in a free rhythm. Similar to the rhythm of speech.






Can you answer 50 questions in 15 minutes?



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